


How Things Began

by Silvex



Series: Dreams For A New World [1]
Category: Digimon Tamers, One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, And Is It Tasty?, Bad Ideas, Different Digimon Suzie, Evolving Tags, Gen, Luffy Warps Reality, Suzie Has So Many Brothers, Suzie Is A Pirate At Heart, Team Balance? What's That?, Team as Family, What Is Sanity?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-28 10:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13901706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvex/pseuds/Silvex
Summary: Even off the Grand Line, it seems anything is possible. Even monsters from a card game becoming reality, or interdimensional travel. Even the reincarnation of a Pirate King and some of his friends and family.When these things combine, it's trouble. So it's a good thing they have partners to look after them.This is how they all met their own Digimon friend.





	1. The King and His Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy's plan for his new life is simple. He just wants to live peacefully.  
> Well, until he bumps into an old friend, anyway. That certainly changes things.

The former Monkey D. Luffy is positive that, in this life, his parents wanted a girl. While he appreciates the new surname, the fact is, his given name in this world is still Ruki.

Needless to say, he doesn’t go by that name unless he has to. The birth certificate can say whatever it wants, but as far as he cares, he’s still Luffy. And he tells everyone the same.

He has a normal family this time around, at least until his father disappears fairly early, and his grandmother is what everyone else would call ‘sane’. To someone partially raised by Monkey D. Garp, that qualifies as ‘boring’. But he goes along with it, because this is his family and he loves them just as much as he loved the last one. He thinks. The only way he could tell would be if he had his old family there to compare the two, and that’s not likely to ever happen.

He doesn’t discount the possibility, though. He’s the Pirate King, after all. And if conquering the Grand Line teaches you anything, it’s that nothing is impossible. Just very, very difficult.

* * *

  
  


He’s proven right a few years later, when he uses his allowance to buy a straw hat and ends up bumping into Zoro. Who, apparently, isn’t supposed to be in Shinjuku but in another city for a card tournament.

“Cards?” Luffy asks, and his first mate nods.

“Yeah. Digimon. I got into it a while back. It’s about using strong monsters to defeat other monsters.”

“Teach me!” He begs, and Zoro agrees, though that may have been him realizing that he doesn’t really have a choice. Even after they’re done, he doesn’t entirely understand it, but there’s dinosaurs and robots and stuff, so it’s really cool, and he takes to collecting them.

He also has Zoro’s phone number now, though it’s listed under ‘Akiyama Ryo’. A number Luffy calls whenever he gets the chance, because they’re nakama and that’s not going to change, different universe or not. Also to ask about the kind of places he gets lost at, because while this world seems to follow normal physics most of the time, his friend’s sense of direction is one of the exceptions, and it’s a cheaper alternative to international vacations.

After one such trip, during which point he apparently won yet another tournament, the swordsman comes to visit in person, followed by a small blue reptile. A Veemon, if Luffy remembers the name on his card correctly.

“Veemon, this is the guy I told you about. Captain, this is my Digimon partner, Veemon. Apparently, these things are real.” And Luffy has a new goal in life. He wants to become an awesome Digimon Tamer, just like Zoro.

He doesn’t get the chance to ask how Zoro met Veemon, though, because they wander off a few minutes later and get lost.

This time, he doesn’t pick up the phone.

Luffy doesn’t see them again for a long time.

 

* * *

 

Just because Luffy has a new life goal, that doesn’t mean he knows how to reach it. He may have to go to the Digital World itself, which could be a problem. He might sometimes lose his way, but his lostness doesn’t transcend dimensions the way Zoro’s apparently does.

He asks his grandmother about it. She just laughs. “Ah, Ruki, what a wonderful imagination you have.”

He wishes Zoro had stuck around long enough to tell him. Not that it would have helped if he’d somehow ended up in the Digital World, but it would have been a starting point. Oh, well. It’s more of an adventure this way.

When the next championship rolls around, he’s called on to defend Zoro’s title, since his friend is still missing and someone apparently said, at some point, that Luffy was his student. He’s not sure where they got the idea, since he’s only played a total of five games before, and he still doesn’t quite understand all the rules.

He thinks they take this thing too seriously. But he does somehow pull out a win using the many cards he’s found over the years, so he doesn’t complain. And if being a real Tamer is anything like this, he just wants it all the more.

When he sorts through his cards, afterwards, there’s a blue one he doesn’t recognize.

* * *

  
  


Luffy spends a week thinking over what to do with the Blue Card before scanning it. He doesn’t know what it is, after all, and he likes to think he’s learned his lesson about messing with unfamiliar things. Well, sort of. He still scans it without bothering to look up what it does.

He’d love to be partnered to all the Digimon that appear. He would. But his mother wouldn’t be happy if he brought in so many, even if there were room in the house, which there isn’t.

He knows this from personal experience with the local stray cats. He was told that he could only keep one, and since he couldn’t just pick, he had to let them all go. He’d liked those cats. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have tried bringing in all thirty of them.

So now he’s thinking about cats, so when they start asking which Digimon he wants for a partner, the one his mind leaps to is Mikemon. And he says it out loud, because his ability to sort out thoughts from words still isn’t all that great.

But a Digimon’s a Digimon. And he even has a Digivice now, yellow to Zoro’s pale blue. The cat looks at him and flicks her tail.

“So, you’re my new Tamer?” She analyzes him. “For someone who won a tournament, I’d think you’d be more impressive.”

“I’m Luffy!” He grins, leaving out the surname because, even years later, he still gets them mixed up. “I’m the king of the pirates!”

Mikemon stares at him for a few seconds, the same way Nami would if he did something she particularly didn’t like. “...I’ll take your word for it. You’re going to help me fulfill my purpose, got it?”

“Purpose? What purpose?” He asks, because Mikemon is now nakama and nothing she can say will get her out of it, so he has to know what she wants.

“I’m going to be the strongest,” She replies. “Isn’t that the purpose for all Digimon?” And there’s something wrong with the way she says it, that makes Luffy realize that his new partner doesn’t really have a dream.

That’s okay. He’ll help her find one. And he tells her as much, though she doesn’t react well to that. He’s sure she’ll come around, though.

They always do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luffy is taking Rika's place because... well... because the other two mains had to be used for the sake of certain partners.   
> Zoro is Ryo because it means the Wonderswan games can therefore be interpreted as him getting lost... again. He's currently running around the Digital World with an AeroVeedramon. He didn't even mean for the to go back there, it just happened. He's been trying to return home ever since.  
> And of course Luffy and Zoro get their partners first. Luffy by virtue of being Luffy, and Zoro to inspire Luffy to be a Tamer in the first place.  
> Don't worry about Mikemon. She'll come around.


	2. The Eldest Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace probably wouldn't be coping as well as he is without his new family. But he's willing to go along with whatever this life has in store, at least for a little while.  
> Up until he breaks his new game, anyway. But at least Suzie's happy.

Ace is positive that, were it not for his new family, he’d never be able to function in what this world calls normal society. They don’t quite get his issues- he doubts anyone ever will- but they help.

It’s the only reason he lets them call him Jenrya. On the first day of school, he made his actual name clear to anyone who asked, and he’s been just Ace ever since.

Admittedly, the way people help is with prescribed medication, but he doesn’t care, because it works. Well, he’s pretty sure. He doesn’t really know in the case of the narcolepsy meds, because he falls asleep in class either way. But he hasn’t fallen asleep outside of school recently, so it’s a pretty safe bet.

He doesn’t want to think about the state he’d be in if his older sister hadn’t noticed the nightmares and everything else. Probably not a very good one. He’s willing to admit he has issues, if only to himself. Normal, sane, well-adjusted people do not sometimes look at their hand and wonder why it’s not catching fire.

Still, better him than Luffy. He can easily imagine his little brother forgetting he no longer has his Devil Fruit and jumping off of the balcony or out the window.

(Across town, Makino Ruki is laughing and getting random people to sign his cast.)

* * *

  
  


When little Suzie comes along, Ace realizes just how much he’s missed being a big brother. She can’t replace Luffy or Sabo, nobody can, but she’s his little sister and that’s what counts.

Sometimes, when nobody else is around, he’ll tell her about his pirate days, and she listens in rapt fascination, hugging her little rabbit doll. While his older siblings call him by the name this family gave him, he’s always been ‘Ace’ to her.

This is, admittedly, probably because she can actually pronounce it, but he doesn’t care. It’s nice having someone who knows, even if she only thinks it’s a story. Can only think it’s a story, because even if his past life somehow comes back to haunt him, Ace refuses to let his baby sister get involved.

He’s already let Luffy get hurt for him. He’s failed Sabo entirely. He won’t let the same thing happen to Suzie. He wants to be a better brother. He’s just not sure how. It’s not like little siblings come with an instruction manual.

Nor do they need them. He’s well aware that if Luffy had come with one, it would have gotten destroyed by his antics before anyone got the chance to read it. The kid was a living heart attack, after all.

Ace wonders if he ever grew out of it. Probably not. He can’t really imagine his baby brother changing for anything.

* * *

  
  


The day everything changes for Ace just so happens to be his birthday. He gets the hat he asked for, the only thing he really wanted, since he doesn’t care about his birthday, doesn’t even know how old he should be counted as.

But he has his hat back, and if by some miracle he ever finds either of his brothers here, he’s never teasing them about their choices in headgear again. He’s sure it’s not impossible- he’s here, after all- just highly unlikely.

He never thought the day would come when he was relying on Luffy’s odd relationship with luck, but here he is.

He doesn’t mind the extra gift, though. He’s never been really big into the Digimon craze that apparently everyone else is, even though his father in this world created the game, but he supposes it couldn’t hurt to play it at least once.

“Hey, Suzie, do you want to watch me play this?” He asks, because at some point, she’d apparently decided that Ace was her favorite sibling. Jaarin and Rinchei say it’s because he’s filled her head with ridiculous pirate stories. Ace thinks they’re just jealous.

She nods, and picks up her rabbit doll- a different one, but she still really likes bunny rabbits- before following him into the room.

For a moment, he wonders what it’d be like if she met Luffy. Besides the obvious heart attack in the making, anyway. Perhaps it’s a good thing he’ll likely never find out.

(When he does, just over a year later, he realizes that his assumption was completely correct, and that he probably shouldn’t have introduced them.)

 

* * *

 

Ace doesn’t know anything about Digimon. Well, okay, he knows some of the basics, he just doesn’t overly care about it. He very quickly realizes that was a mistake, because this game is awesome.

Suzie wanted him to pick one of the many rabbit Digimon, but he still chose a Coronamon, because it’s a fire Digimon and the game doesn’t offer any fire rabbits. If it did, he would have picked that. And Suzie doesn’t seem to mind, because she gets to see her favorite brother doing cool stuff.

He doesn’t have many cards, however, and plows through them in desperation when met with an unusually tough opponent. His little sister’s watching, he likes this Coronamon, and he doesn’t want to lose here.

He doesn’t notice the card that wasn’t there a minute ago until he’s already scanned it, leaving Ace with a crashed game, a red Digivice, and an injured Coronamon that Suzie’s already begun to fuss over.

“Cowonamon’s… weal?” She asks, and Ace is wondering the same thing, as well as how something like this hasn’t ended up on the news already.

“Of course I’m real! I’m right here!” The Rookie replies, already trying to push himself up. Ace likes his attitude. He’s sure it’ll be grating someday, if the way the other Whitebeard Commanders interacted with him is any indication, but he thinks having a mini-me will be fun. Especially if it’s one that can still use fire.

Not that he’s allowed to use it in their home, because they kind of want to see how long he can keep this a secret. Ace is pretty sure Suzie’s going to spill it before too long. And even if she didn’t, he still doesn’t want his new partner to burn down the apartment.

Outside, on the other hand… it turns out that there’s a lot of wild Digimon roaming about. And that a good number of them are flammable. They don’t even seek out opponents. It just happens.

Not that Ace is complaining. This life has been good to him, giving him even more family and some much needed mental stability, but it’s not quite what he wants. He wants adventure.

He wonders if there’s a way he can go to the Digital World.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ace knows his baby brother far too well, though he didn't jump off a window or balcony. It was a tree. And of course he decides he wants to go to the Digital World as soon as he becomes a Tamer. There's very few that wouldn't, and that's generally because they become Tamers in the Digital World.  
> Coronamon was picked by virtue of being a fire Digimon that was counterpart to a rabbit. They have very complimenting personalities.  
> Suzie's likely going to end up nothing like her canon self. The main similarity is probably going to be them being partnered to the rabbit Deva.


	3. The Goggle Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabo misses the Grand Line. More than that, he misses the excitement.  
> He may have gotten in a bit over his head, though.

The boy currently known as Matsuki Takato is listless. He appreciates the fact that this world is sane. To him, that’s honestly something new and exciting. But there’s just something missing from his life.

He has two loving parents. He doesn’t have to worry about food. The government isn’t even completely terrible. To just about anyone, that would be blissful. Not to him.

Sabo’s bored. He appreciated the rest for the first few years, but he grew up on the Grand Line. He honestly misses the random changes in weather, the impossible feats that could be accomplished with Devil Fruits, the many distinctive- and likely insane- people dwelling on the islands. Now he’s left with just his memories, and a story that no one will ever believe.

Maybe he’ll turn it into a book, like he wanted to when he was actually a kid. He’s sure it would make for an entertaining piece of fiction.

Besides that, though, his only complaint is that his new parents won’t let him get a top hat. They do allow him the goggles, though, and that’ll have to be enough.

(When he leaves the store, he doesn’t notice another boy looking through the straw hats.)

* * *

  


Sabo has an odd relationship with fire. Sometimes his parents have to forcibly stop him from playing with matches, other times he seems downright pyrophobic. Which confuses people, but he just shrugs, because he can’t really offer a good explanation.

He can’t tell them that he used to be made of fire because his older brother lacked any sense of self worth or self preservation. Nor that, in a past life, he was in the middle of an explosion that almost caused him to lose sight in his left eye. And not even he’s entirely sure how he swings between the two lines of thought so often.

He just knows that, on school camping trips, he can’t let himself get too close to the fire, because he’ll either have a panic attack or burn himself.

(He never notices the other boy, who always arranges himself at the minimum safe distance.)

* * *

  


When he’s at home, he always feels that he has to be ‘Takato’. But when he steps into the park, he’s able to be ‘Sabo’ again without any trouble. His friends- all from the Grand Line, like him- have already left for school, given that he slept in and the place is empty when he gets there.

He almost expected it, but it’s not really out of the way, so he figures checking couldn’t hurt.

He’s glad he did, because there’s a card laying out in the middle of the floor. None of them are obsessed with the Digimon game the way their classmates are, but they do play from time to time, and they only have so many cards.

He doesn’t recognize this one, though. As far as he’s aware, there aren’t any cards meant to be a pure blue. And while he likes to say he’s more sensible than Luffy, that isn’t saying much, because he scans the card without a second thought.

The dark blue Digivice that results is something he can’t help but wonder about. Because as far as he’s aware, this is supposed to be just a game.

He’s not complaining, though. Whatever results from this is sure to be the most fun he’s had in years.

(He stumbles on the way to school in his excitement, just barely missing sight of a boy in an orange cowboy hat.)

* * *

  


Sabo doesn’t tell anyone about his Digivice yet, if only partly because he’s not even sure if it does anything. He’s hoping it does, he hasn’t had proper excitement in a long time, but so far, nothing’s happened.

It’s been less than a day, though, and it’s not like he’s done anything to experiment. He’s been busy with school and homework. So he figures he should get around to it. The world isn’t going to turn itself upside down, after all.

The fact that there’s still a slot to scan cards is the first thing Sabo notices. It’s fairly obvious, after all, and since he can’t seem to figure out how to turn it on, it can’t hurt to run a card through.

The card he picks for the dummy test is a Flamemon card, a favorite Digimon of his because it reminds him of himself and Ace. The instant he scans it, the Digivice bursts to life. He doesn’t know what the display is trying to show him, but something tells him that, if he doesn’t follow it, he’ll regret it forever.

He certainly doesn’t expect to find an actual Flamemon.

(As soon as she sees the approaching human, the lone Digimon gives up on the hunt for the night and goes back to her Tamer.)

 

* * *

 

Sneaking Flamemon into the house is easier than Sabo thought it would be. Which is sort of a letdown, but that doesn’t matter to him because he has a Digimon partner that he can introduce to everyone else tomorrow.

“Takato? Where have you been?” His mother asks, and he’s glad that Flamemon’s already through the door into his bedroom, because he doesn’t want to deal with this right now.

“At the Katou residence?” He suggests, hoping that she won’t call to verify, because that is the last thing he needs today. Or tomorrow, since this late, she’d probably wait until morning.

He hurries into his room, noting that Flamemon’s already sitting on the mattress. “You said your name was Sabo,” The Digimon comments. “Why did she call you Takato?”

“Long story,” He mumbles, ready for the day to just end already.

“We have all night.”

“No, we don’t.” If he misses the morning meeting again tomorrow, he’s sure his friends are going to kill him. Two of them in particular.

And more than that, he sort of wants the next day to come as quickly as possible. He wants to see just what the introduction of a living, breathing Digimon to his life will do. Things are finally starting to pick up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Sabo's taking Takato's place for a very important reason... yeah, just kidding, it's the goggles.  
> Let's be entirely honest. Coming off of a place like the Grand Line, how many people would be content to live normal lives? ...Didn't think so.  
> As it turns out, he could have met up with his brothers at just about anytime. They just kept barely missing each other. The next day, he finds out that he and Ace have been going to the same school for years and they've never noticed.  
> Two fire Digimon and a cat may not be great team balance. But we're not looking for team balance. We're looking for a bunch of misfits that somehow managed to become Tamers. And it works.


	4. The Navigator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite how long it's been, Nami remembers the day her first life stopped being normal. In this life, though, there's a number of days that qualify.  
> Most of it thanks to a tiny white Digimon she finds under the car.

Kitagawa Nami isn’t entirely sure why she hangs out with her friends. Right. Because she’s known them for literally her entire life, and then some, so it’s a bit too late to get rid of them. Not that she particularly wants to, because while they’re a bunch of insane morons, they’re her insane morons.

Besides, it’s not like they do all that much, other than sit around in the park and pine for the Grand Line. Sometimes they play cards, but that’s really just a hobby.

At least, it is until the ASL Tamers get their start. At that point, it’s apparently a survival skill. She doesn’t really get it, but is content with helping to tell them off whenever they do something especially stupid.

For the first week or so, anyway. Because that’s about the point that she gets sucked into the craziness just as deeply as they did.

* * *

  
  


It starts when she finds a little white Digimon hidden under the car. She’s no stranger to random Digimon showing up- when the only active Tamers in a large city do everything together, they’re bound to miss something- but they generally aren’t smaller than her school bag.

Of course, in hindsight, Coronamon and Flamemon can’t have been the only non-Champion Digimon to have ever emerged, so it isn’t all that surprising.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, trying not to sound too threatening since she knows from experience that appearance and power don’t have to match, and if she’s come across a living force of nature or something, Nami doesn’t want to offend it.

“I’m scared, calu…” The tiny thing trembles. “There were these Vilemon earlier, and I had to hide, calu, so they wouldn’t find me. And some Tamers and their Digimon ran past after them, and I couldn’t come out because I didn’t want them to see me, calu.” Perfectly understandable. As far as she can tell, the only way for a wild Digimon to survive for long in Shinjuku these days is to be fireproof.

Or possibly Ultimate Level. Only that’s probably no good, because she’s heard that Flamemon, at least, is capable of Digivolving to Champion. So she’s going to assume the only guaranteed survivors of an attack by the ASL Tamers would be Mega Level.

“I think I know them,” She remarks. “Flamemon, Mikemon, and Coronamon, right?”

“Agunimon and Firamon, calu!” The little Digimon corrects her. Yeah, Ultimate Level’s definitely not a guarantee of safety, then.

“Well, why don’t you come inside for a bit” She offers. “Just until we can explain you to them so that they don’t hurt you.” The Digimon nods and leaps up to her shoulder.

“I’m Calumon, calu!” He chirps, and she can’t help but smile, because he has the same sort of boundless energy as Luffy, if slightly more controlled. She decides that maybe she shouldn’t let him near sugar, though.

He ends up staying much longer than she’d thought. She doesn’t mind.

* * *

  
  


Nami knows that there’s something that makes Calumon different from other Digimon. The evidence is clear, or rather not, because when a Tamer makes to scan him with a Digivice, no data appears.

She thinks it might have something to do with the fact that Digimon only seem to Digivolve when they’re around, and she hopes it’s right, because then she can start charging for it. Calumon downs snacks way too quickly, and she’s the one that has to pay for them. Her allowance simply can’t support it. Not that she would have turned down the extra income if it could.

There’s also the fact that he can’t attack, nor does he seem to have a Digivolution line. The little white creature seems to simply be a mystery, one she’s not sure they’ll ever find out.

Who is she kidding? She’s friends with two who carry the Will of D., and another who’s a very convincing argument that it can be at least partially passed on through adoption. Of course they’ll figure it out someday.

Still, Nami doesn’t try to think about it too much. She remembers being normal. She remembers a time before she met Monkey D. Luffy. She wouldn’t go back to it unless you paid her using the budget of a large country, but she remembers that it existed. That there are plenty of people who don’t get up to the same insane antics as they do.

She supposes that, if that held true for pirates, it just may be the same for Tamers, and she hopes so because if those three are the baseline, the world is going to end someday soon, possibly as a result of their own actions.

(She ends up cursing herself for having thought that, because Murphy’s Law is still in effect, and it’s kicked in at the worst possible moment.)

* * *

  
  


Nami’s grown attached to little Calumon in the time they’ve roomed together, and when she comes home after school to see him with shorter ears than usual, she knows there’s a problem. “What happened?” She sighs, because this has happened a few times before, but never this bad.

“Do you… know Terriermon and Lopmon, calu?” That she does. They’re a pair partnered to another set of twins, toddlers. “They said that the reason I don’t have a Tamer is that I’m not a real Digimon, calu.”

Nami’s willing to bet that the one who said it was Terriermon, because she’s actually met them and Lopmon’s fairly polite, if a bit low on patience from spending a good chunk of every day with toddlers. “You know, I’m fairly certain those two share a brain. And neither of them ever have the entire thing.”

Sort of like the local active Tamers, actually, only that’s passed between three people and Sabo always has the majority of it. Something she’s mentioned to their other friends before, and gotten agreement.

“They just pick on me because I don’t have a Tamer, calu…” Which isn’t right, because their partners haven’t even started school yet, let alone run out hunting wild Digimon.

“I’ll be your Tamer,” She suggests. He looks at her with wide eyes, and she realizes yet another thing he shares with Luffy- he’s impossible to say no to. “I mean, I can’t really, but… we could pretend.”

“Pretend, calu? Like Suzie does when she acts like a pirate?” And Nami can entirely believe that that’s where Calumon’s thoughts go to when he thinks of pretending, because Suzie has an active imagination, and the fact that she’s grown up on stories of the Grand Line doesn’t help.

“That’s right. It won’t even be too different to what we have now. You just need to listen to what I say.” She should have suggested this weeks ago, if that’s all it takes to get him in line. And she’s worn plenty of masks before. What’s one more?

(Several months later, when they return from their first trip to the Digital World, they aren’t pretending anymore, and have a white Digivice to prove it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nami, as Kenta's analogue, is still the last one to officially become a Tamer. She is, however, the fifth one to meet her Digimon. So it's hard to tell where to place her on the list of experience.  
> Yes, they actually do call themselves the ASL Tamers. They even have an adaptation of the old flag.  
> Also the whole reason to have Nami (pseudo-)partnered to Calumon is mostly so she can later attempt to charge the whole Digital World for power. It doesn't work.


	5. The Phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco honestly didn't mind being normal. It was refreshing, a change.  
> Of course, the ASL Tamers just had to ruin that.

The boy currently known as Uehara Minato lives a peaceful life. It’s a new experience- he spent most of his previous lifetime in the New World- and he goes with it because it’s what makes the most sense.

Marco loves situations where he can rely on common sense. They just don’t show up often enough, and he’s certain that, of his old crew, he was the only sane one for that particular reason.

His life in this world… the best comparison would be that he packed up and decided to move to East Blue, except East Blue would probably be more exciting. Which is a shame, because enjoying the break from New World level insanity or not, Marco is still a pirate. Was. Whatever the proper tense is, and given where he comes from, he’s honestly surprised it’s never come up before.

He has problems adjusting. Normalcy, as enjoyable as it is in small doses, gets old after a while, just like with insanity. Having a normal healing rate definitely takes some getting used to, although he’s careful enough that it doesn’t come up very often.

He even avoids picking fights at school, if only because he can remind himself that he’d be beating up children, and it’s not worth being grounded to make them shut up. Instead, he simply reigns in his temper, walks home, and spends the rest of the day watching his pet parakeet.

Perhaps, when he grows up, he’ll become an ornithologist. He does have a certain advantage, after all. And it’s not like piracy is an especially viable career choice here.

 

* * *

 

Marco’s routine isn’t broken up by anything particularly earth-shattering. His parakeet simply falls ill and dies. Not completely unexpected, if a bit sooner than he would have liked. He just didn’t have the time to take care of her properly anymore, what with all the extra homework, and his father considered the bird to be his responsibility.

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have shown his real intelligence at age five, but it turns out that there’s very few things an average five-year-old can do, and he was bored. It’s not like anyone takes notice, so long as he keeps it in what he assumes to be the lines of reason.

Marco thinks his father in this world may be a bit out of it, because instead of getting a new pet, or just dropping the issue, the man decides to try and create a virtual replacement. Using Digimon, even, though Marco has so far not watched a single episode, opened a single pack, or shown any inclination whatsoever that he would enjoy it.

But he raises the creature anyway, all the way to a Birdramon. It’s not as fun as a real pet, even a bird, but it’s also strangely addicting. Maybe just because it looks like something off the Grand Line.

He knows for a fact that sailing the New World removed his sense of shock. It does that to everyone. So he’s able to just roll with whatever’s going on.

Until Portgas D. Ace and his little brothers come walking down the street, anyway.

 

* * *

 

So, Marco’s pretty sure by now that living in this world for so long has reinserted a sense of shock into him. Though the fact that he’s not the only one here, Digimon are real, and the three in front of him are the only currently known active Tamers might have been a bit too much all at once. As well as the knowledge that Ace and Luffy aren’t even meant to be here, but are instead crashing Sabo’s vacation.

“You know, I probably shouldn’t have told them I was leaving,” Flamemon’s partner sighs. “But they would have panicked if they went to the bakery and I wasn’t there, so there wasn’t really a right answer.”

“Ace never seems to leave one, yoi,” Marco agrees, even as he bats the hands of the other two Tamers away from his plate, wondering how he could have ever missed this. Right. Because he likes Ace, even if he can be an utter moron at times.

“I’m right here, you know- Luffy! Chew!” Behind them, Mikemon faceclaws as her Tamer starts choking.

Sabo groans. “Oh, not again… This is the third time this month!” Not that it stops him from snatching a tomato from Ace while he’s busy.

It occurs to Marco that he and Mikemon are the most relatively sane beings at the table, and that scares him. He’s almost glad when the conversation turns to V-Pets, even if he doesn’t quite understand the appeal.

He’s not entirely sure he should keep being glad after Birdramon comes flying out of the computer, but all things considered, it had to happen eventually.

So he has a new sense of shock. It’s clearly not a very sharp one.

* * *

  
  


After the end of what will henceforth be referred to as ‘The Gulfmon Incident’, Marco sits on his bed, staring at the orange Digivice in his hand. It’s a fairly important decision to make.

For the longest time, he was tired of insanity. Now that he’s actually gotten a break from it, and has contact with others like him, well… He knows that D. will bring a storm once again. The only question is if he wants to be in the middle of it or not.

He already knows it will be dangerous. They would have lost, had Nami and Calumon not come in at the last moment. And that’s not even going into the logistics of how they’ll manage.

On the other hand, he’s pretty sure that, if he doesn’t do this, he’ll never see his partner as Garudamon again, let alone figuring out Phoenixmon. And he’s from the Grand Line, so it’s not like anything that could happen will be new to him.

“Biyomon?” He begins.

“What is it, Marco?” His partner replies. He simply brings out the card he was given before the others left, green and with the requisite power to Digivolve Biyomon at any point he wants.

“Help me pack, yoi. We’re moving.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, the story of how Marco came to be living in the shed that would once have been Guilmon's. And of course his partner is a Biyomon. Why wouldn't he have a giant fire bird?  
> He's also the most relatively sane one of the cast. Not that that's saying much. He's also the only one that joined the ASL Tamers as an informed decision. The rest either jumped in headfirst or were caught in Luffy's magnetic personality. Often both.  
> As soon as they got back from crashing Sabo's vacation, Ace and Luffy were grounded. They didn't care.


	6. The Instructor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, becoming a Digimon Tamer is a life shattering experience. But not always. Sometimes, these things just click.  
> Of course, even then, it still takes half a day to realize.

The girl occasionally known as Katou Juri is used to insanity. She grew up on the Grand Line in her first life, and surrounded by similarly adjusted people in her second. Sanity has never been part of the equation, and sometimes she wonders what it would be like.

She supposes she’ll never know. She and Sabo found each other again really early on, and another pair just sort of gravitated to them. Ace and Luffy showed up a bit more recently, and just a few weeks ago, they somehow shanghaied Marco into their little group. At this point, she’s far too used to their antics to imagine a life without them.

Honestly, it’s not that big of a deal. The life of Katou Juri has always been dull and lacking excitement, aside from Sabo’s occasional… episodes.

But, right now, she isn’t Juri. She’s Koala, and she’s walking through the park with Nami and Calumon while the Tamers- including the one that actually lives in the park- patrol the town.

Hopefully, this time there’s minimal property damage.

She’s not sure why three-fourths of them think that the best solution is overkill, and she’s long learned not to ask, because that would require her to willingly expose herself to Luffy Logic. And nobody can argue with Luffy Logic.

(Marco tried, once. It didn’t work.)

* * *

  
  


The rat Deva showing up isn’t entirely unexpected, given the already established pattern. They show up, they attack Nami to try and get to Calumon, they get beaten off.

The Ranamon’s new, though. And, normally, Koala doesn’t help fight off the Deva, breaking the park’s fountain in the process.

“How much do you think that’ll cost to fix?” Nami asks. Koala hopes that the other girl’s just curious, and doesn’t seriously intend on making her pay for it. It’s hard to tell with her.

“Probably more than my snacks, calu,” Calumon chips in. Ranamon nods, a look of gratitude on her face.

“Thank you for helping me. I might have been able to take him on my own, but I had hoped I didn’t have to risk it. Though it’s a shame we had to destroy him… the Devas were meant to be the Digital World’s protectors.” Koala doesn’t really know what to say to that.

Not that they have to say anything, because they can hear people getting closer, and don’t want to be caught talking to a being from another world over a destroyed water fountain. It’s enough that the others are probably going to talk to them about this later, likely pointing out that she’s no longer allowed to complain about the rather large amounts of property damage they accumulate.

Though, to be honest, she was always fighting a losing battle there. Trying to limit collateral when three-fourths of the active party use fire is sort of an exercise in futility. She’s not even sure why she tries anymore.

* * *

  
  


Koala splits off from Nami part way home, Ranamon still following her because the Digimon doesn’t really have anywhere to go. She hopes this doesn’t turn out like it did with Nami and Calumon, because a Champion Digimon is that much harder to hide.

She has to answer Ranamon’s questions, of course, because she’s just arrived in this world and has no idea what anything is. She’s sort of like a large child. Koala would know, because sometimes she jokes about whether she’s these people’s friend, or their babysitter.

But they make it home, and she hollows out a space in the closet for her new friend, because the alternative was leaving her in the park, where she was bound to make a scene before Marco could find her.

Even dinner’s easier, because Champion Digimon are better able to control their appetites, even if it’s their first time actually trying food. And she really should be more surprised by all of this, except she’s pretty sure that she never actually developed a sense of shock.

No, it’s the next morning when everything turns upside down, though far from the first time- or the last- this year. It’s just the only one that affects her more than anyone else.

(Well, maybe the D-Reaper incident. But none of them like thinking about that.)

* * *

  
  


Sabo doesn’t come to visit Koala on his own as often as he used to. She understands this. He has responsibilities as a Tamer and brothers that he’s scarily dependent on now that he’s found them. He just doesn’t have the time anymore.

So it’s always a nice surprise to find him at the door, even if Flamemon’s also there now because a Digital Field could spring up at any time. It’s still a bit odd to see him without a scar or top hat, even after all these years, and she thinks it’s always going to be this way.

“I thought you were going to be at the park by now,” She says, because it’s Sunday and he always makes for the park on Sunday, because that’s where the bunch of misfits calling themselves the ASL Tamers meet.

He shrugs. “I heard about your new friend. Ranamon, was it?” He asks, and Koala inwardly curses Nami, even though she had never exactly sworn her to secrecy. 

“And this isn’t about the water fountain?” She just has to make sure. He laughs.

“No, but Marco’s not very happy about it. Too much attention.” Which means she still doesn’t know the actual reason he’s here, if there even is one. But there probably is one, because he lives closest to the park out of all of them, and her house is in the exact opposite direction.

This is the point where Ranamon comes to the door. “Koala, who’s this?”

“This is Sabo. He’s an old… friend of mine.” Because she can’t exactly explain just what the two of them are to each other, when they haven’t even figured it out themselves. They’ve just never had the time. She’s not sure they ever will.

“Oh, okay! It’s nice to meet you, Sabo! I’m Ranamon!” And of course the Champion Digimon is a morning person. “And that’s a Flamemon, right? I’ve never met one before.” Ranamon seems to be on the young side for a Champion, but she’s also taking to the real world rather well.

Koala’s not sure how long the conversation lasts, but they’re broken out of it by Sabo realizing that he’s going to be late.

“You should get going,” She says, even as she realizes that her parents and brother are going to wake up soon and she needs to figure out what to do about Ranamon. “Don’t want to make them worry.”

“You could come with me,” He suggests. “But I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you don’t mind the plans literally going up in flames.”

“I have worked with you before,” She reminds him. “I think I can handle a little fire.” Probably better than he can, although she knows better than to suggest it. She doesn’t claim to understand his weird relationship with fire, just that she’s one of less than fifteen people to know about it. Less, not counting the Digimon.

She doesn’t follow him, though, just lets him walk away.

“Why don’t we go with him?” Ranamon asks, and Koala finds she doesn’t have a good enough answer, beyond the fact that she’s not a Tamer. And if it would let her tag along, she finds that, for possibly the first time, she really wants to be.

It’s not the world turning upside down, really. It’s more of something slipping into place, something she feels should have a long time ago. Because there’s now a light green Digivice in her hand, and a Digimon at her side, both feeling like they’ve always been there.

“You know, Ranamon… that just might be a good idea.”

For the first time in her life as Katou Juri, she actually feels alive. The future is suddenly a lot more daunting, but as she runs out the door, followed by her new partner, she doesn’t think there’s any place she’d rather be.

(They’ll figure it out. Someday.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hilariously enough, the two sanest characters are the ones that spent the most time on the Grand Line.  
> I almost gave Koala a Phascomon. I almost did. But I decided against it.  
> It took a lot of effort to resist the urge to make Ranamon a copy of Undyne. But these people are already insane, there's no need to put in more lunatics than necessary.  
> The shipping's mostly going to stay in the background. It exists, it's there if you look for it, but it's hopefully going to avoid getting any more blatant than this, at least for a while.


	7. The Chef

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is, amongst all the reincarnations, the one who's stayed normal for longest. This does not sit well with him, especially since they're going to the Digital World.  
> Fortunately, an overeager bat manages to fix this.

As the events of the year go on, Shioda Sanji has to keep reminding himself that he has seen weirder. That as strange as the Digimon that keep appearing are, he has been to the New World, and this place has nothing like it.

It works for a while, even. Up until Calumon is kidnapped through the portal in Marco’s storage room and they have to visit the Digital World.

He agrees to go along, of course, because Luffy is his captain and Sanji will follow him anywhere. Besides, it’s not like he can’t hold his own in a fight. He picked up training again even before he met Flamemon, Coronamon, and Mikemon.

There’s a lot of things to keep in mind before they go. They’re not sure how far the Digital World’s lack of needs go, so it might not extend to medications, in which case they’re on a time limit because of Ace’s narcolepsy and other assorted issues, as well as Luffy’s ADHD.

Sanji’s seriously hoping it extends to medications, because otherwise, as soon as the duo run out of pills, they’re going to have to start planning their exit whether they have Calumon or not.

Still, he’d figured they were going to go to the Digital World eventually. He knows his captain well enough to be able to tell he’d never be able to resist. Best everyone else is able to go after him.

He wouldn’t trust Yamaki to get them home safely if Luffy didn’t. The man is directly responsible for a number of their troubles in this life. But he’s also opposed to the rest of them, and Sanji supposes that’s why Luffy trusts him. His captain is a fairly good judge of character, and they really should try not to forget that.

“Yamaki’s nakama now,” He states as they go through the portal. Sanji just shrugs, because he already knows how it will end if he tries to argue. Best not to waste time on this.

(By now, everyone knows better than to fight Luffy Logic.)

* * *

  
  


It’s not that Sanji has a problem with not having a partner. Nami doesn’t have one, either, at least not officially. Her membership in the ASL Tamers is rather heavily disputed for that reason alone.

And, of course, there’s the fact that, being in the Digital World, his non-Tamer status is subject to change any day now, just as a matter of course. So it’s not the fact that he’s partnerless he has a problem with.

Or, at least, it’s not just that, but the fact that Zoro has a partner and he doesn’t. An AeroVeedramon. And apparently, he’s had his Digimon longest.

Robin, with the dark green Digivice and the Tapirmon, doesn’t really count, since she’s technically in a coma. In the waking world, she’d have no Digivice or Digimon.

It’s not like Sanji has much of a chance to dwell on all of this, though. Because he, Koala, Luffy, and Nami all fall through one data stream with their Digimon. Ace, Sabo, Marco, and their partners fall through another.

He has no idea what happens to Zoro, Robin, or their partners, but he gets the feeling he won’t be seeing them for a while. And he wonders why Luffy never told them Zoro was here and a Tamer.

(He doesn’t realize how dangerously close he is to arguing with Luffy Logic until it’s almost too late.)

 

* * *

 

Of course they end up having to deal with an Orochimon within a few days of the separation. And the closest thing they have to backup is a very badly injured Devimon whose only hope of survival is to go back a stage.

It was fine up until they told Luffy about the plan. Which reminds Sanji of why they don’t try to fit Luffy into the plans anymore. He just marched on up to the cave and tried to punch out the Digimon inside. Which could work, in any other scenario.

Fortunately, they’re used to plans going up in flames. Usually a bit more literally than this, but at least Luffy is still capable of drawing Blue Cards, so they can win easily enough. Although Luffy’s a bit more interested in testing out just what his recent wishes have gotten him.

“I must say,” Devimon comments, “That I didn’t think humans could do what you’re doing. Especially him.” He nods in agreement.

“He’s been messing with the DIgiGnomes.” And Sanji’s not entirely sure what Luffy did to get his Devil Fruit back, though given the carelessness of the wishes that have been made in his earshot, it was probably something stupid.

(One of the many desert areas is now only so much glass.)

 

* * *

 

Sanji looks to where DemiDevimon is hovering just over his shoulder. “I’m trying to cook here,” He grumbles. “You’re just going to mess up the dishes.” It just wouldn’t do for him to serve substandard food at a party, of all places.

“But you’re all so interesting! I want to know how you do these things!” For a moment, he considers shooing the bat over to where Ranamon and Mikemon are bragging about their Ultimate forms. But that wouldn’t really answer any of his questions.

“We train a lot,” He replies. “There’s really nothing else to it.” Although they do have a few unfair advantages as holdovers from their previous lives, Koala and now Luffy especially. But it’s always been up to them to figure out where they need to stand in terms of power.

“...So, if I were to train a lot, I could do these things too?”

“Probably.” And he dreads the day the Digital World learns Haki. This place is almost on the level of the Grand Line. They don’t need to add New World level crazy to the mix when the humans are mostly fighting at Paradise levels, if that.

“Train me.”

“What?” He doesn’t jump at that. DemiDevimon might have come up with an idea he’d never expect, but Sanji is used to dealing with Luffy and his whims.

“I can get strong enough that Digimon like Orochimon can’t hurt me anymore if I train. But I wouldn’t know where to start. And you’re the only human here that doesn’t already have a Digimon.”

He wonders where DemiDevimon got that idea, or who told him about Nami taking care of Calumon. But he remembers that even the mosshead has a Digimon now, and he nods in acceptance.

Of course, he has to hurry to make up for the distraction from his cooking, but he has a black Digivice now, and all is right in the world.

(Until it’s not. But that’s another story.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A possible moral of this part of the story: Never let a D. anywhere near a wish-granting device. Or the ability to warp reality in general. It will not end well.  
> DemiDevimon operates at least partially on Luffy Logic. If he wants something to happen, it will happen. Unlike with Luffy himself, however, it only occurs within reason. This is a good thing.  
> Robin is replacing Alice and is extremely minor except for in like the last three episodes. But she actually is a Tamer, and has been one for the longest time. Possibly. She and Zoro never compared notes.  
> Also, note that Luffy's current level of hyper in the story is while he's medicated. You do not want to see him without those pills.


	8. The Cabin Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzie may be young, but she's just as mixed up in this as the rest of her family. Even if she doesn't have a Digimon of her own, she doesn't want to be left out.  
> They've taught her just a bit too well, it seems.

Suzie loves Big Bro Ace’s stories. They sound unbelievable, but she just can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, the Grand Line really is out there somewhere. That somewhere, somewhen, there actually were pirates roaming the seas with powers limited only by the imagination.

When she closes her eyes, she can easily imagine Ace surrounded by crackling flame. It fits his personality fairly well, and she even says the same to Big Sis Jaarin and Big Bro Rinchei.

They agree, but tell her not to pay too much close attention to the stories. That they aren’t real, and never can be, because something as fantastical as that could never exist.

“Jen’s just making it up to entertain you,” Rinchei reminds her. Only Suzie knows better, because she actually listens, and she can hear from his voice that Ace truly believes in what he’s saying.

She doesn’t say anything about it, though, until the day Coronamon appears. Because while she’s well aware that anything is possible, she’s not entirely sure how to bring it up.

“Cowonamon’s weal,” She says again, looking at the bandaged up Digimon asleep on his new Tamer’s bed.

“Yeah…” Ace breathes, as though the fact hasn’t quite sunk in yet. “Yeah, he is.”

“And the Gwand Line? Devil Fwuits? You’re weally a piwate, awen’t you?” She seems to have caught him off-balance. But then, she supposes not many people would figure it out.

He laughs, though he seems to worn out by today to care. “You’re a pretty smart kid, Suzie.” They don’t really talk about it more, not right now, when they’ve just witnessed their peaceful life disappearing in the swipe of a card. They might not later, since it can’t be that important.

(They end up doing so eventually, and that’s what makes her wish she was a pirate.)

 

* * *

 

Suzie has the largest family out of anyone she knows. She’s aware that half of her siblings aren’t even related to her, but that doesn’t matter. Because first Big Bro Sabo and Big Bro Luffy showed up, and then Big Bro Marco was shanghaied in by Luffy Logic, and she now has twice the number of siblings she did before. And she loves all of them.

Ace has always been her favorite. That hasn’t changed at all, though they’re all deeply mired in the special brand of insanity that makes up the ASL Tamers and their friends who may or may not one day be assimilated. Suzie visits the park as much as anyone else in the group, though if they’re going very far, they often have to designate a babysitter.

Often, it’s one of the ones that don’t have partners, or at least not officially. But it stops mattering soon enough, because Ace lets her follow him much less often once the Devas start showing up. Suzie isn’t there the day Calumon is captured for that reason.

She’d ask Luffy for a way to get her allowed to come along to the Digital World, because even at her young age, she understands that you just can’t argue with Luffy Logic, but she realizes he’d never agree. He’s far too caught up in the fact that he’s no longer the youngest, and wants to protect her just as much as the others do.

(Besides, if he wasn’t allowed to leave home at seven, he’s not going to let anyone else do so, either.)

* * *

  
  


How Suzie got into the Digital World is something not even she knows. She just finds herself wandering, and that honestly seems like a good idea, because it’s this or play at being a pirate, and that just doesn’t work as well in a desert.

The first living being that she finds besides herself is a large white Digimon with passing similarity to a rabbit. “Who are you?” She asks, hoping that this isn’t one of the Digimon she’s been told about that absolutely hate humans. That weapon looks dangerous.

“I am Crescemon, the rabbit Deva,” The Ultimate replies, but she makes no move to attack, so Suzie thinks she’ll be safe at the moment. “What are you doing here, human?”

“I’m looking for my big bwothers! There’s Big Bwo Ace, Big Bwo Sabo, Big Bwo Marco, and Big Bwo Luffy! They have Cowonamon, Flamemon, Biyomon, and Mikemon!” Crescemon doesn’t even react to the fact that her brothers are Tamers.

“Why are you searching for them? They seem more capable of protecting themselves than you are. I have heard that they even turned a desert to glass.” Which sounds odd, but three-fourths of them have partners that actively use fire, so it makes sense. She remembers Nami and Koala yelling at them over collateral damage, and there’s a lot of buildings that have to be rebuilt after being a bit too close to a battlefield- burned to the ground.

“But they’re my bwothers,” She replies. “And their fwiends are nakama. I’m not a Tamer or a piwate… but I have to find them! I know you’re busy, but… could you help me? Please?”

Suzie’s pretty sure that not Crescemon knows why she agreed. But she does, in the end, and that ends up making all the difference.

* * *

  
  


“No data- that’s a Deva, yoi!” Suzie doesn’t pay attention to Marco’s realization, or Ace and Sabo’s- where did he get a top hat?- panicked reactions, focusing on the purple Digivice that is now in her hand. On the incredible feeling of rightness that comes from standing at Crescemon’s side.

Zhuqiaomon’s retribution strikes, and Suzie has to correct herself. Using the Digivice she’s just earned- and she has earned it, wandering this glass desert for hours- she decides to learn just what kind of Digimon her new partner is.

“Lunamon.” She makes sure to be the first to say it, to put a name to the face that’s going to be with her for the rest of her life, the way Ace has Coronamon.

“I suppose she’s not the youngest Tamer there is…” Sabo sighs. “But what is she even doing here?” Right. They’ll want answers. So she’ll have to tell them. It’s about time she got some stories of her own, anyway.

“Suzie? Which Tamers are these?” Lunamon asks, quietly, and she grins back.

“It’s some of my bwothers! See? Cowonamon, Flamemon, and Biyomon!” She points out the partners that she’s already told her Digimon about, and the white rabbit nods, still hesitant to approach.

Which sort of makes sense, seeing as Ace is surrounded by flames the way he always was in the stories. Which Suzie supposes means that even their last vestiges of normality are now long gone. If they even existed in the first place.

“Come on! I’ll intwoduce you!” She takes her rabbit’s paw, and walks Lunamon over to where half of her siblings are waiting. She’s not sure where Luffy and their friends are, but she’s sure they’ll turn up. They always do.

Lunamon’s time as a Deva may have just ended, but it seems that for Suzie, her life- and adventures- are only just beginning.

(And what a life it is.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It turns out that having a bunch of pirates for role models makes a big impact. And Ace would definitely use his brothers and friends as babysitters.  
> Look at her. Only seven years old and already preaching about nakama. Luffy will be so proud of her. And Ace, once he's cooled down a little... or a lot... entirely literally... It might take a bit.  
> Also, not being the youngest Tamer doesn't mean anything when the youngest are both two. Sabo's just trying to distract Ace before he goes eldritch flame demon. They've already turned the desert to glass, they don't need to make it worse.


End file.
